1 Dies As Fires Ravage Australia Capital

Published 6:00 pm, Friday, January 17, 2003

Wildfires raged out of control on the outskirts of Australia's capital Saturday, destroying dozens of homes and forcing thousands of people to evacuate. At least one person was killed, police said.

A state of emergency was declared in Canberra as temperatures soared and powerful winds fanned blazes in mountains to the city's north, south and west.

At least 50 homes were destroyed but the numbers were expected to rise as authorities visit outlying areas, said Mike Castle, a spokesman for Emergency Services Australia.

"It is a day of enormous sadness that we have lost a resident to the fire," said John Stanhope, chief minister for the territory that includes the capital. "A number of Canberrans have been seriously injured, perhaps up to 100 families have lost their homes."

Stanhope gave no details about the resident killed by the fire.

Thick gray smoke blanketed the city of 320,000, and sparks and ashes rained down. Streets were almost deserted and local radio stations broadcast warnings to more than 30 suburbs in the path of the flames.

Fires blazed just a few miles from the federal parliament building but no government buildings were immediately threatened.

A Canberra Hospital spokesman said more than 50 people had been treated for smoke inhalation and burns. Two people with serious burns were flown to Sydney for treatment. The one death was from smoke inhalation, authorities said.

"It's a serious situation," fire service chief Phil Koperberg said. "We don't have all the resources collectively … to deal with the totality of the problem."

Many residents said there were no firefighters in their streets, forcing them to try to ward off the flames with garden hoses and buckets filled from swimming pools.

Winds eased late Saturday night, but firefighters said the crisis was not over and could erupt again Sunday.

One official said some of the fires may have been deliberately started, although most appear to have been caused a week ago by lightning strikes in a nearby national park.

Thousands of people took shelter in three evacuation centers.

"We have got 1,500 to 2,000 here," said Frank Duggan, who was running one of the centers. "We have counselors, we have support staff running around trying to help people. In a situation like this it is all hands to the deck."

Alan Lattak, who lives in the suburb of Duffy, said his home was lost in the fire and members of his family were missing.

"I've lost my wife and daughter and I can't find them anywhere," he said.

Bronwyn Lowe said she left her home to protect horses at an equestrian center as flames bore down on them.

"We managed to save the center but we have lost our house, we have lost our car … we have lost everything," she told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Thousands of firefighters and troops across southeastern Australia were battling fires, described as the worst to hit some regions in 50 years.

Peter Lucas-Smith, who was controlling fire crews around Canberra, said there was little his forces could do to battle the blazes in treacherous conditions.

"Fortunately they don't come around very often and you've really got to fall back and look at property protection, and the safety and welfare of your people and the community," he said.

The Snowy Mountains, 280 miles southwest of Australia's largest city, Sydney, were hard hit with about 1,000 tourists evacuated overnight from a resort. Hundreds more people were evacuated from villages in the area.

Another village, Hotham Heights in Victoria state, was also evacuated. It was not known how many people fled from the advancing wall of flames.

A fire also broke out in northern Sydney, threatening a number of homes. There were no immediate reports that any houses were destroyed.

Australia is in the grip of a yearlong drought that has left much of the countryside parched and highly vulnerable to fire. Once fires start, they roar through dry undergrowth and into oil-filled eucalyptus trees, creating infernos that are all but impossible to put out.